Chapters 1-4 Discussion
Chapter One - Quotes and Connections 1.Public value and moral purpose have always been the mission statements of democratic governments. This time it is different b/c the 8 elements of sustainability, once pursued in combination, compel all levels of the system to make moral purpose seriously.
“NCLB requires all states to have an achievement-driven system in which “annual yearly progress” in student achievement is documented and reported publicly for every school in every state, with a sequence of escalating consequences for those schools not improving.” ~pg. 11 Thirty-four years after A Nation at Risk we still know the underlying problems with the achievement gap, Yet, we still hold underperforming schools, which are mainly in low-income areas, accountable without providing adequate or equitable funding and resources to address the problem. Lisa Hughes: 'We now know that capacity building throughout the system at all levels must be developed in concert, to do this will require powerful new system forces."
Students need to become more resilient: able to lock onto learning and resist distractions either from outside or within
Connection: Getting to know your team and building personal relationships within my new district has been a professional goal.
Nearly all of the success stories involve iimrovements in literacy and numeracy at elementary level. My district is currently working towards improving this.
“...we need a radically new mind-set for reconciling the seemingly intractable dilemmas fundamental for sustainable reform: top-down versus bottom-up, local and central accountability, informed prescription and informed professional judgment, improvement that keeps being replenished.” Many concepts and ideas in the field of education are not sustainable and this leads to new programs being constantly implemented, but no real sustainable positive outcomes.
Chapter Two Quotes and Connections Collaboration rather than competition is the motivation for hundreds of schools in this pioneering programme that will transform learning experiences for children, teachers and school leaders. (p.)
Lisa Hughes: "If a system is to be mobilized in the direction of sustainability, leadership at all levels must be the primary engine." Reminds me of Senge's work on system thinking.
Laterteral capacity- teacher leaders and principal collaborate with other schools to learn from and contribute to school improvement. My district could do this more with some of the newly implemented procedures.
“We also see heavy-handed schemes like No Child Left Behind (NCLB) in the US and a prescriptive preoccupation with targets in England during the 1990s are bad for sustainability.’ ~ pg. 23 When it doesn’t work we just change the name to and a few rules….ESSA.
...critical mass is the long lever of leadership...systems will be mobilized in the direction of sustainability IF leadership at all levels are primary engine.
“Any solution must be efficient, sophisticated, powerful, and amenable to action.” There is a heavy focus on data analysis, but not a lot of deep thinking about the problems and strategies to fix those problems.
Chapter Three - Quotes and Connections The main mark of an effective principal is not just his or her impact on the bottom line of student achievement, but also on how many leaders he or she leaves behind who can go even further. As society places high expectations on performance of public schools leadership is bound to come to the forefront. My leader, who is great, seems to be always a step ahead of things we need to improve on. “Sustainability is very much linked to continuity of deepening direction over time.” For programs and initiatives to be sustainable, there needs to be more continuity when one leader leaves and a new one enters. Lots of times new leadership = new direction, and while change is good, I believe that sometimes diving deeper into strategies that are already working is more beneficial to students. "Individual sustainability concerns the ability to keep on going without burning out."
It is important to know yourself, understand you strengths and what you need in order to be successful as a leader. Reflection (talking to yourself in the car-lol) is critical as a leader.
“To do this, leaders need to seek sources and situations that push the limits of their energy and engagement, coupled with rituals or periodic breaks that are energy recovering.” ~ pg. 35 Far too often in education, we all forget to do this. I feel a good leader will ensure both themselves and staff address “cyclical energizing”.
Leaders are the stewards of organizational energy...seek and harness energy...
1. “A learning organization is a place where people are continually discovering how they create their reality and how they can change it.” (pp. 12, 13; my emphasis) (Fullan, 2005, p. 41). “We need fundamental changes in the cultures of organizations and systems; the new work is harder to do, requiring much more sophistication - leaders working to change conditions, including the development of other leaders to reach a critical mass.” ~ pg. 52 We need to be willing to look at what has not worked in the last 100 years, acknowledge there are still serious issues and instead of making new legislation, put work into action. Connection: Observation is key to making decisions in informed leadership. It has been very important for me to reflect on all aspects of my experiences working within a new team context.
"Addressing an adaptive challenge requires complex learning in politically contentious situations where there are many inertial forces pulling us back to the status quo (or, if you like, keeping us from persisting in addressing the challenge)."
“Progressive interactions and the language of transformation find value in certain kinds of conflict and deal with it productively; provide feedback that is conducive to learning; access good knowledge on an ongoing basis; make people feel committed…” Not all conflict is bad. Conflict can generate change. I wish more administrators and decision makers were open to change and would stop seeing it as a threat to their leadership.
Collaboration NOT Coblaboration! Process smart